Russia has agreed to rejoin the Black Sea grain deal – designed to ensure safe passage for ships carrying vital food exports from Ukraine – after it withdrew from the agreement on Saturday.
A video has emerged purportedly showing the sabotage of military helicopters deep inside Russia. Subsequent satellite imagery shows several damaged helicopters at the base.
Russia’s “partial mobilization” of citizens to fight in its war against Ukraine has been completed, President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.
Zelensky: Kremlin demanding security guarantees from Ukraine shows Russian aggression has failed
From CNN's Jonny Hallam
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia demanding security guarantees from Ukraine demonstrates the failure of its invasion after eight months of fighting.
In his nightly address on Wednesday, the Ukrainian leader said: “252 days ago, Russia demanded security guarantees from the United States of America. After eight months of Russia’s so-called ‘special operation,’ the Kremlin is demanding security guarantees from Ukraine. These are indeed striking changes.”
“It shows both the failure of Russian aggression and how strong we are when we remain united,” Zelensky added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russia resumed its participation in the UN-brokered grain deal that it had left days earlier, saying it had received written security guarantees from Ukraine on demilitarizing the maritime corridor.
In televised comments, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, “having received the necessary guarantees from the Ukrainian side that the humanitarian route will not be used for military purposes, Russia resumes the implementation of the grain deal.”
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Biden administration proposes potential $535 million arms sale to Finland
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
The Biden administration approved the potential sale of approximately $535 million in Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems to Finland, the State Department announced Wednesday.
The approval comes as Finland awaits approval by Turkey and Hungary to join NATO. Helsinki’s move to join the defense alliance was prompted by Russia’s war in Ukraine — Finland shares shares an 800-mile border with Russia.
“Finland intends to use these defense articles and services to increase its national stock, bolstering the land and air defense capabilities in Europe’s northern flank,” it said. “The increased national stock is critical to Finland’s defense and deterrence due to the deteriorated security situation in Europe.”
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Ukraine claims it hit significant Russian military systems in Kherson
From CNN's Julia Kesaieva
Ukrainian officials say that the military has struck an important target in the southern region Kherson, as the pro-Russian authorities continue to press civilians to leave.
Serhii Khlan, member of the Kherson Regional Council, said that Ukrainian forces hit Russian air defense systems close to the stadium in Kherson city. Those systems have also been used to shell Mykolaiv, sometimes with devastating effect.
Khlan posted a photograph purportedly showing the “remains of the equipment.”
Khlan said there had also been further hits in the area of the Antonivskyi bridge, where Russian forces and the pro-Russian administration have been operating ferries and pontoon bridges to resupply the west bank, where thousands of Russian troops remain.
He said that in the city of Kakhovka —on the east bank of the river Dnipro — the three streets closest to the river were being forcibly evacuated. He said the Russians “in the city are digging in, setting up concrete trenches.”
Khlan said the Russians “are digging in on the east bank, preparing for defense, thinking that this make our offensive impossible. But the resistance movement and the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to fight.”
Khlan repeated what other Ukrainian officials have asserted: that the Russian-backed authorities have left the city of Kherson — which is on the west bank — to set up office in the city of Skadovsk, much closer to Crimea.
“As for the urgent and mandatory “evacuation” called for by the Russians, our people are not going to go anywhere. If the locals did not have the opportunity to go to the de-occupied [Ukrainian-held] territory or decided to stay at home, they definitely do not want to go to Russia,” Khlan said.
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Ukraine warns Iran to stop supplying weapons to Russia or expect "absolutely ruthless" actions in response
From CNN's Jonny Hallam and Olga Voitovych
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks with press after a Security Council meeting at the UN Headquarters on September, 22.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Iran has been informed through diplomatic channels of the consequences of Tehran sending new weapon deliveries of attack drones and ballistic missiles to Russia.
Kuleba said at a news conference in Kyiv that “the threat is real” of reported new weapon deliveries from Iran.
On Tuesday, CNN reported that Iran is preparing to send approximately 1,000 additional weapons, including surface-to-surface short range ballistic missiles and more attack drones, to Russia to use in its war against Ukraine, according to officials from a Western country that closely monitors Iran’s weapons program.
“A much wiser decision for Iran would be to completely curtail its military cooperation, supply to Russia of any weapons used against Ukraine,” Kuleba added.
Iran has repeatedly denied sending weapons to Russia despite clear evidence to the contrary.
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Ukraine's Zelensky thanks Turkey's Erdoğan for help in salvaging grain deal
From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said he thanked Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his “active participation in preserving the grain deal” after Russia said it would rejoin the agreement.
Zelensky said in a Telegram post that during the phone call with Erdoğan, he also thanked his Turkish counterpart for his “strong support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Zelensky said that they also discussed “further steps for the return of our captured political prisoners.”
“Turkey’s support is important for us in this matter,” he added.
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Russia says it will only use nuclear weapons as a defensive response to an attack threatening its existence
From CNN's Jonny Hallam
Russia on Wednesday said its nuclear doctrine will only permit the use of atomic weapons in a way that is defensive in nature and that the strict guidelines “pursue solely defensive goals.”
A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation said the Russian military is “strictly and consistently guided by the tenet that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”
“Russian doctrinal approaches in this sphere are defined with utmost accuracy” and do not allow room for “expansive interpretation,” the ministry said.
The statement comes amid a recent increase in concern among United States and Western officials that Russia was considering using a tactical nuclear weapon on Ukraine.
On Wednesday, CNN reported that Russian military officials have discussed how and under what conditions Russia would use a tactical nuclear weapon on the battlefield in Ukraine, according to a US intelligence assessment described to CNN by multiple sources who have read it.
The Russian foreign ministry in its statement said that it reaffirms its commitment to a joint statement signed on Jan. 3 by China, Russia, France, the UK and the US on preventing nuclear war and arms races.
“We urge other states of the ‘nuclear five’ to demonstrate in practice their willingness to work on solving this top-priority task and to give up the dangerous attempts to infringe on vital interests of each other while balancing on the brink of a direct armed conflict and encouraging provocations with weapons of mass destruction, which can lead to catastrophic consequences,” the ministry said.
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UN chief welcomes Russia rejoining grain deal
From CNN's Eve Brennan and Chris Liakos
The Malta flagged bulk carrier Zante en-route to Belgium transits the Bosphorus carrying 47,270 metric tons of rapeseed from Ukraine on November 2, in Istanbul, Turkey.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “warmly welcomes” Russia resuming participation in the Black Sea grain deal, his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Wednesday.
“The Secretary-General warmly welcomes the announcement from the Russian Federation on its resumed participation in the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative to facilitate the safe navigation for exports of grain, foodstuffs and fertilizer from Ukraine,” Dujarric said in a news release.
Dujarric said that Guterres is “grateful” for the diplomatic efforts of Turkey, thanking “UN Coordinator, Amir Abdulla, and his team for their work to keep this vital food supply line open.”
“The Secretary-General continues his engagement with all actors towards the renewal and full implementation of the Initiative, and he also remains committed to removing the remaining obstacles to the exports of Russian food and fertilizer,” Dujarric added.
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US officials divided over intel suggesting Russian military discussed scenarios for using nuclear weapons
From CNN's Natasha Bertrand, Katie Bo Lillis and Zachary Cohen
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu chairs a meeting at the National Defence Control Centre in Moscow, Russia, on November 1.
Russian Defence Ministry/Reuters
Russian military officials have discussed how and under what conditions Russia would use a tactical nuclear weapon on the battlefield in Ukraine, according to a US intelligence assessment described to CNN by multiple sources who have read it.
The assessment, drafted by the National Intelligence Council, is not a high confidence product and is not raw intelligence but rather analysis, multiple people who have read it told CNN. For that reason, some officials believe the conversations reflected in the document may have been taken out of context, and do not necessarily indicate that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon.
The US has still not seen any signs that Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to take the drastic step of using one, officials said, and Putin is not believed to have been involved in the discussions described in the NIC product.
But others within the administration who have viewed the document have reacted with concern, because it provides a rare window into conversations between senior Russian generals and reveals their intensifying frustration about Russia’s losses on the battlefield in Ukraine. That frustration could turn into desperation, some officials fear. There are also questions about whether Russia’s self-declared annexation of eastern Ukraine earlier this year means Russia is willing to take more extreme measures to protect that territory.
Some more context: The US has also been watching Russia’s actions around the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, which Ukrainian forces are trying to take back from Russian forces in a counteroffensive. In recent weeks, Russian officials have ordered the city to be evacuated, and the US is concerned that if Ukraine drives the Russians out in a humiliating defeat, it could be the kind of trigger that would lead Putin to resort to tactical nukes. It’s among the scenarios envisioned by the intelligence assessment, although officials emphasized that Kherson is not the sole focus of the product.
The New York Times first reported on the intelligence assessment. But the internal divisions over the quality of the intelligence and how to interpret it has not been previously reported.
Putin says Moscow reserves the right to quit grain deal if Ukraine uses corridor for military purposes
From CNN's Uliana Pavlova
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow reserves the right to pull out of the grain deal if Kyiv breaks promises and uses the humanitarian corridor for military purposes.
Putin said that Russia considers Ukraine’s written guarantees, which were received with the assistance of Turkey and the UN, sufficient to resume the grain deal.
Putin reiterated that Russia will stick to its promise to supply grain to the poorest countries regardless of the developments with the grain deal.
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Wheat and corn prices fall after Russia announces it will resume participation in Black Sea grain deal
From CNN's Hanna Ziady
Prices of wheat and corn on global commodities markets fell Wednesday after Russia reversed course and said it will rejoin a deal to allow vital grain exports from Ukraine to pass through the Black Sea.
Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 6.34% to $8.45 a bushel. Corn futures fell 1.93% to $6.84 a bushel. The moves reverse sharp gains in the prices of both commodities earlier this week, after Russia suspended its participation in the deal on Saturday.
Ukraine and Russia together account for nearly a third of global wheat exports and the grain deal has played a crucial role in lowering the price of wheat and other commodities globally.
After reaching a record high in March, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s global food price index has declined for seven months in a row.
Last week, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said the renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative was crucial to avert a global food crisis.
Exports of grains and other food products under the initiative have surpassed 9 million tons, according to the intergovernmental organization.
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Nord Stream operator completes initial data gathering on damaged pipeline in Baltic Sea
From CNN’s Rob North and Alex Hardie in London
A gas leak causes bubbles on the surface of the water above the Nord Stream pipe line in Sweden on September 29.
Swedish Coast Guard/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Nord Stream AG, the operator of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany and into Europe, has completed “initial data gathering” at the location of the pipeline damage on Line 1, in the Swedish exclusive economic zone, the operator said in a statement Wednesday.
According to preliminary results, technogenic – created by human technology — craters with a depth of 3 to 5 meters were found on the seabed at a distance of 248 meters from each other, the statement said.
The section of pipe between the craters is “destroyed,” the statement said, adding that analysis of the survey data continues.
Last week, the pipeline operator said it was still waiting for approval to carry out a similar survey on the parts of pipeline damaged in the Danish exclusive economic zone.
The leaks were discovered in the pipelines, prompting investigations by European authorities that determined powerful underwater explosions had occurred just before the pipelines burst in several places.
The pipelines were created to funnel gas from Russia into the European Union, and were controversial long before Russia waged war on Ukraine, largely because of fears around European reliance on Russian energy.
Swedish authorities first sounded the alarm about leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines – both of which run under the Baltic Sea near Sweden and Denmark.
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Ukrainian war victims launch group lawsuit against Russian mercenary group Wagner
From CNN’s Sam Kiley and Xiaofei Xu
Workers put final touches on the "PMC Wagner Centre", associated with businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner PMC (private military company) mercenary group, ahead of its opening in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on October 31.
Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images
A group that says it is composed of war victims from Ukraine have launched a lawsuit at the United Kingdom High Court of Justice against the Wagner Group, the shadowy Russian paramilitary group involved in Russia’s war in Ukraine, and its leader and key-Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, lawyers for the alleged victims announced in a statement Wednesday.
“The action will allow ordinary, courageous Ukrainian citizens to pursue legal compensation claims against dominant actors within ‘Putin’s War-Machine’, with the purpose of frustrating its efforts and obtaining damages for the atrocities being carried out in Ukraine,” McCue Jury & Partners, the law firm representing victims, said in the statement.
The lawsuit will target any sanctioned or unsanctioned assets owned by “any entity of Putin’s war machine” and lawyers intend to explore ways to launch similar lawsuits in the United States and around the world, according to the statement.
Various politicians from both Ukraine and the UK have expressed their support to the legal action, including former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
What the Kremlin is saying: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the Wagner Group is a private organization and he cannot comment on the lawsuit.
“Firstly, we cannot say anything about the company’s activities; it is a private organization. Secondly, judging by the wording that you quoted, this is an extremely unqualified question. These are absolutely superficial statements, so it is hardly possible to talk about any serious steps here,” Pekov said Wednesday during a regular call with journalists.
CNN’s Anna Chernova contributed reporting to this post.
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Putin says Russia's military equipment and weapons should be constantly modernized
From CNN's Anna Chernova and Radina Gigova
Russia’s military equipment and weapons should be constantly modernized and improved, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday during a virtual meeting of the so-called Coordination Council, formed recently to address the needs of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.
Putin told officials that all key industries should work together to support the needs of the military, and nothing should stand in the way of “achieving the desired results.”
The Coordination Council, which was created on Oct. 20 and is headed by Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, will continue holding regular meetings.
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First on CNN: US accuses North Korea of trying to hide shipments of ammunition to Russia
From CNN's Kylie Atwood and Katie Bo Lillis
National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby speaks from the White House in Washington, DC, on October 26.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
The United States is accusing North Korea of secretly supplying Russia with a significant number of artillery shells for use in the Ukraine war and is trying to hide the shipments by making it appear as if the ammunition is being sent to countries in the Middle East or North Africa, according to newly declassified intelligence.
US officials believe that the surreptitious North Korean shipments — along with drones and other weaponry that Russia has acquired from Iran — are further evidence that even Moscow’s conventional artillery arsenals have dwindled during eight months of combat.
Recent intelligence suggesting that the shipments are proceeding comes about two months after the US intelligence community said that it believed Russia was in the process of buying millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for use on the battlefield, CNN and other outlets reported at the time.
“In September, the DPRK publicly denied that it intended to provide ammunition to Russia,” the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said in a statement to CNN. “However, our information indicates that the DPRK is covertly supplying Russia’s war in Ukraine with a significant number of artillery shells, while obfuscating the real destination of the arms shipments by trying to make it appear as though they are being sent to countries in the Middle East or North Africa.”
Officials did not provide evidence to support the new allegations. The declassified intelligence also did not provide details about how many weapons are part of the shipments, or how they would be paid for.
But American officials have publicly touted the alleged deal as evidence that Russia is struggling to maintain the necessary weapons stockpiles to continue to prosecute the conflict.
As recently as two weeks ago, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines argued that “export controls are forcing Russia to turn to countries like Iran and North Korea for supplies, including UAVs, artillery shells and rockets.”
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Putin tells Indonesian president Russia will resume grain deal after receiving "necessary guarantees" from Ukraine
From CNN’s Anna Chernova
Cargo ship Super Bayern, center, carrying Ukrainian grain, sails at the entrance of Bosphorus off the coast of Kumkoy, Turkey, on November 2.
(Ozan KoseAFP/Getty Images)
Russia is resuming participation in the grain deal, President Vladimir Putin told Indonesian President Joko Widodo in a phone call Wednesday, according to the Kremlin readout.
Putin informed Widodo that “having received the necessary guarantees from the Ukrainian side that the humanitarian route will not be used for military purposes, Russia resumes the implementation of the ‘grain deal,” the official readout said.
Putin also expressed Russia’s “readiness to provide significant amounts of grain to the poorest countries free of charge as humanitarian aid.”
Putin effectively confirmed the Ministry of Defense announcement earlier Wednesday that Russia will resume participation in the Black Sea Initiative grain deal, as it has received “sufficient” guarantees.
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Russian forces tell civilians to leave as they prepare new defensive positions on east bank in Kherson
From CNN's Olga Voitovych and Tim Lister
People walk to board a ferry during the evacuation of Kherson, Ukraine, on October 31.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
Russian forces are preparing new defensive positions on the east bank of the Dnieper river in Kherson and telling local civilians they should move away from the area.
Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-appointed deputy head of the Kherson military administration, confirmed Wednesday that the evacuation of civilians has been extended to the east bank of the river, a move that Ukrainian officials describe as “evictions.”
Stremousov said in a video on Telegram that Ukrainian forces had made no progress in breaking through the defense line. But a zone of 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) on the east bank would be evacuated. “There is a certain list of settlements where there will be the line of defense,” Stremousov said.
Stremousov also made a rare acknowledgment of reports of looting and drunkenness among Russian troops.
On the Ukrainian side, the Kherson regional military administration said that active hostilities continue. “The enemy shelled the recently liberated villages of Beryslav district [on the west bank]. Numerous damages and destruction of civil infrastructure were recorded,” it said.
The Ukrainian military’s General Staff asserted that the Russian occupation’s administration of Kherson had been transferred to the city of Skadovsk, much closer to Crimea and close to the Black Sea.
Ukrainian officials said Russian troops are “preparing the territory of the Nova Kakhovka community for defensive battles. In this regard, trenches are being dug along the line of the east bank” over a distance of about 20 kilometers (about 12 miles).
The regional military administration also claimed that occupying forces “continue to kidnap residents of the Kherson region,” especially in Nova Kakhovka.
The displaced mayor of one community on the east bank — Eugene Ryshchuk, the mayor of Oleshky — said it was being turned into a “bridgehead for hostilities.”
“We were led to a choice - a difficult LIFE in evacuation or DEATH in our homes,” he said.
He urged people to do everything possible to survive and assured that “if you are forcibly taken to Russia, remember the state of Ukraine will not leave its people.”
Ukrainian officials have frequently accused Russian forces of widespread and organized looting throughout Kherson, most recently alleging that much of the stolen property was being taken to the city of Skadovsk.
On Wednesday, Yaroslav Yanushevych, head of the Kherson region administration, said Russian forces were looting the “largest light industry enterprise,” a company making uniforms.
Yanushevych said “the occupiers are taking out sewing machines, cutting tables, embroidery machines, office and computer equipment and other equipment with trucks.”
CNN is unable to verify the claim.
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US UN ambassador says she is pleased that Russia will again participate in Black Sea grain deal
From CNN's Betsy Klein
US Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks to the press at UN Headquarters, New York, on October 1.
Lev Radin/Pacific Press/Shutterstock
The US is “delighted” after Russia has agreed to participate again in the Black Sea grain deal, marking a reversal after the country said Saturday it would suspend its participation, according to US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
She said the deal was “beneficial to Russia” as well, as it enables the country to move grain.
A warning on Russia and Iran: Thomas-Greenfield also warned that Russia and Iran are violating a UN resolution as the countries engage in talks about potentially sending ballistic missiles to Russia. She said the UN will “ramp up the pressure” on other nations to condemn those actions, and said it would be brought before the UN Security Council. And more broadly, she said that any planning for Russia to use a nuclear weapon is “absolutely irresponsible.”
She reiterated that President Joe Biden has “no plans” to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20, but she said that the release of American citizens like Brittney Griner remains a “priority” and she is “prepared” to hold such a meeting if Griner’s release is on the table.
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It's mid-afternoon in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know.
From CNN staff
Russia announced it will resume its participation in a key grain deal after saying it would back out of the agreement on Saturday. If you’re just joining us, here are the latest developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Moscow rejoins Black Sea grain deal: Russia has said it will resume participation in the Black Sea grain deal that ensures safe passage for ships carrying vital food exports from Ukraine after receiving “guarantees.” The deal was set to resume at midday Turkish time (5 a.m. ET) Wednesday, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said following a call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Allies key to countering Russia’s attacks on energy infrastructure: International assistance will be vital in overcoming Russia’s sustained assault on Ukrainian energy facilities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Tuesday. Zelensky repeated his regular call for air defenses to protect Ukraine, and revealed that he had discussed defense and energy agreements with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and Kadri Simson, the European Commission’s top energy official.
“Heating points” coming to Kyiv: Authorities in the Ukrainian capital are preparing to deploy about 1,000 “heating points” across the city as winter approaches, said Mayor Vitali Klitschko. People will be able to warm up, drink tea, recharge their phones, and get help as needed at the heating points, which will be located in facilities such as schools and kindergartens, Klitschko added.
Kyiv pushing for air defense: Ukraine is “actively conducting a dialogue” to get more anti-aircraft missile systems from the West while Russia plans to import more ballistic missiles from Iran, a top Ukrainian official said on Wednesday. “We must be one step ahead in military chess,” the head of the president’s office, Andrii Yermak, said in a statement on his Telegram channel.
Ukraine advancing in Luhansk: Ukrainian forces are pushing toward an important highway as they make gradual territorial advances in the Luhansk region, one of four areas that Russia said it was annexing in September, according to both the Ukrainian military and Russian military bloggers.
Russian forces hit Nikopol: The southern Ukrainian city of Nikopol and a nearby town along the Dnieper river were struck by multiple rocket launchers overnight Tuesday, according to Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration. No casualties have yet been reported and the extent of the damage is being investigated, he added.
Video may show saboteur at Russian airfield: Footage has emerged purporting to show a man preparing and planting explosives on a Russian military helicopter at an airbase deep inside Russia. Subsequent satellite imagery shows several damaged helicopters at the base in Pskov region in northern Russia.
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Putin has not yet decided if he'll run for new presidential term in 2024, Kremlin says
From CNN's Anna Chernova and Radina Gigova
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a press conference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on February 15.
Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance/Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet decided whether he will run for a new presidential term in 2024, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday during a regular call with journalists.
Putin has been in power since 1999. He has served as president of Russia since 2012 and previously between 2000 and 2008. He also served as prime minister from 1999 to 2000 during the presidency of Boris Yeltsin, and again from 2008 to 2012 when he swapped jobs with Dmitry Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
In 2021, Putin signed a law that would allow him to run for two more six-year presidential terms, potentially extending his rule until 2036.
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"Russia will do everything to destroy normal life": Zelensky reiterates call for defenses to protect energy infrastructure
From CNN's Jack Guy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers his nightly address on November 1.
President of Ukraine
International assistance will be vital in overcoming Russia’s sustained assault on Ukrainian energy facilities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Tuesday, highlighting diplomatic efforts to counterbalance Moscow’s attacks.
“We will do everything to give people electricity and heat this winter,” said Zelensky. “But we must understand that Russia will do everything to destroy the normality of life.”
Zelensky repeated his regular call for air defenses to protect Ukraine, and revealed that he discussed “very specific projects both to strengthen our defense and to rebuild the destroyed facilities” during a conversation with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
Also on Tuesday, Zelensky met with Kadri Simson, the top energy official at the European Commission (EC), and the pair agreed “many working agreements,” he said.
Russia’s missile and drone attacks have seriously damaged more than 30% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the EC said in a statement Tuesday, and the assault continues.
“They are hopeless on the battlefield. Ukrainian warriors have already proved it,” the Ukrainian president added.
“But it takes time, it takes effort, it takes patience to prove that even the hope for winter will not come true for Russian terrorists. I’m sure we’ll get through it.”
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Ukrainian national energy supplier extends power cuts in several regions
From CNN's Olga Voitovych
Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s national power supply company, says several regions will face extended power cuts as it tries to repair damage caused by recent Russian missile strikes.
Further restrictions would be required on “the electricity supply of all categories of consumers in the Sumy, Kharkiv and Poltava regions. Hourly power outage schedules in these areas have been temporarily suspended,” added the company.
It said the additional measures were needed “to reduce the load on the networks, to support sustainable balancing of the energy system and to avoid repeated accidents after the power grids were damaged by missile and drone attacks by the Russians.”
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Black Sea grain deal was scheduled to resume at 5 a.m. ET, Turkish President says
From CNN's Stephanie Halasz and Hande Atay Alam
The Black Sea grain deal was set to resume at midday Turkish time (5 a.m. ET) Wednesday, said Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following a call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
“After our phone conversation with Putin yesterday, as of noon today, grain shipments will continue as previously planned,” Erdogan said at a party meeting in parliament on Wednesday, reports Turkey’s Anadolu state news agency.
Erdogan will speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about the grain deal later Wednesday, reports Anadolu.
Russia says it will resume participation in Black Sea grain deal
From CNN's Anna Chernova
Ships, including those carrying grain from Ukraine and awaiting inspections, are seen anchored off the Istanbul coastline on November 2, in Istanbul, Turkey.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Russia has said it will resume participation in the Black Sea grain deal that ensures safe passage for ships carrying vital food exports from Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said on Telegram that it considers that “the guarantees received at the moment seem sufficient and resumes the implementation of the agreement.”
Moscow suspended its participation in the United Nations-brokered grain export deal with Ukraine on Saturday, citing drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol.
Moscow blames Kyiv for the attacks. CNN cannot independently verify Russia’s claims. On Saturday a top Ukrainian official accused Russia of inventing “fictitious terrorist attacks” on its own facilities in Crimea, and also accused Moscow of “blackmail.”
On Tuesday, however, Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that Ukraine had submitted “the necessary written guarantees” that it would not use the humanitarian corridor, or ports designated for agricultural exports, to launch military operations against Russia.
The Kremlin’s decision to pull out of the agreement sparked “grave concerns” over global food supplies at a time when the world is already facing a growing hunger crisis.
Global humanitarian organizations, the European Union, NATO and the United Nations all pleaded with Moscow to reverse its decision, warning that any decline in exports coming from Ukraine could have potentially deadly consequences.
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Kyiv is preparing emergency heating stations across city, mayor says
From CNN'S Olga Vitovych and Radina Gigova
Authorities in Kyiv are preparing to deploy about 1,000 “heating points” across the city in case of an emergency, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Tuesday.
“For this occasion, we are preparing more than a thousand heating points in our city. Electric generators have been purchased, water reserves have been made and everything necessary for these heating points to receive people,” he said.
Such heating points will be located in facilities such as schools and kindergartens, Klitschko added. People will be able to warm up, drink tea, recharge their phones, and get help as needed, he said.
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Sabotage of military helicopters deep inside Russia purportedly shown on video
From CNN's Tim Lister, Gianluca Mezzofiore and Anna Chernova
Video has emerged purporting to show a man preparing and planting explosives on a Russian military helicopter at an airbase deep inside Russia.
Subsequent satellite imagery shows several damaged helicopters at the base in Pskov region in northern Russia. The base is about 35 kilometers from the border with Latvia, but nearly 1,000 kilometers from Ukraine.
The sabotage of the helicopters is the furthest from Ukrainian territory that an attack has been confirmed against a Russian military target since the conflict began.
The video shows an unidentified man placing something inside a helicopter. At one point he puts something to his ear, possibly a timer. At another moment, a Ka-52 attack helicopter is clearly visible.
The video is shot in daylight but the explosions did not occur until after nightfall, according to unofficial Russian media.
CNN has geolocated the video to the Veretye base at Beredniki.
Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence said Tuesday that a “powerful explosion occurred at the air base of the Russian Armed Forces “Veretier” on the night of October 31.”
While not claiming a Ukrainian sabotage unit carried out the attack, it said that “as a result of mining, two Russian attack (KA-52) helicopters and one MI-28N were completely destroyed. Two more were significantly damaged.”
A satellite image published Tuesday showed several damaged helicopters at the base.
One unofficial Russian media outlet reported explosions at the base.
The Telegram channel Baza said: “At around 10 pm [on October 31], the military personnel of the unit heard several explosions, and then saw the scattered wreckage of two helicopters. The explosion was so strong that the fragments of the fuselage scattered 200 meters around. The reason for the Ka-52 explosion is unknown.”
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Poland to build temporary wall on its border with Russia
From CNN's Antonia Mortensen in Warsaw and Alex Stambaugh
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak signs a contract for the purchase of 250 Abrams tanks for the Polish Army near Warsaw on April 5.
Mateusz Wlodarczyk/NurPhoto/AP
Poland said it will take measures to “increase security” on its border with Russia by building a temporary wall, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said Wednesday.
In a televised press conference Wednesday, Błaszczak told reporters the decision comes after a surge in flights from the Middle East and North Africa to Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave along the Baltic Sea which is nestled between Poland and Lithuania.
The wall will be 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide and consist of three rows of razor wire, Błaszczak said speaking to reporters in Warsaw. A fence will also be erected from the Polish side to protect animals, he added.
For months, tensions have mounted around the Russian exclave, an isolated but strategically significant territory that experts fear could become a flashpoint in tensions between Moscow and Europe.
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Ukrainian troops move into Luhansk amid intense fire from Russian defensive lines
From CNN's Tim Lister
Ukrainian forces are pushing towards an important highway as they make gradual territorial advances in the Luhansk region, one of four areas illegally annexed by Russia in September, according to both the Ukrainian military and Russian military bloggers.
The Ukrainian advance focuses on a road running south from the Russian border to parts of Luhansk captured by Russian forces early in the summer.
Ukrainian officials say the road is already under their fire control, meaning that Russian military traffic uses it at high risk.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said Tuesday that Ukrainian attacks in the area were being repelled, northwest of the town of Svatove. And Russian military bloggers say that the Russian units defending the line have inflicted heavy casualties on Ukrainian forces.
Senior Ukrainian military official Serhii Hayday told CNN at the weekend that recently liberated villages in the area were being shelled constantly. Ukrainian officials say another obstacle is extensive mining by Russian forces.
Hayday, who is head of the regional military administration, said Monday that the Russians “did have some plans for a counter-offensive, but these plans were ruined by [our] offensive actions, so most probably we won’t see any attacks from their side.”
Hayday also claimed that the Russian units in the area were “freshly mobilized and ex-convicts, people who had civilian professions, who have no military experience and have no coordination among themselves.”
At least one Russian officer serving with a reserve unit in the area has said he expects further Ukrainian attacks towards Svatove imminently. The officer said Ukrainian forces had increased their “grouping” near the town in a post on Telegram.
Denis Pushilin, head of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic, said late Tuesday that the situation along the Donetsk/Luhansk border “remains one of the toughest ones.”
Another target of Ukrainian forces is the city of Kreminna in Luhansk. Social media videos and comments by Russian military bloggers indicate the Ukrainians have pushed forward north of the city, complicating efforts to defend it. Kreminna and other settlements in the area suffered widespread destruction in the spring as Russian forces and their allies pushed westwards.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian General Staff said that Russian forces continued to launch artillery strikes and mortars against several recently liberated settlements close to the north-south highway.
While Ukrainian forces are slowly pushing forward in the area, analysts don’t expect any rapid breakthroughs given the scale of artillery and other indirect fire from Russian defensive lines, which were reinforced after Russian forces were routed from much of neighboring Kharkiv in September.
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Ukraine in dialogue for more modern anti-aircraft systems amid looming Iranian missile threat
From CNN's Xiaofei Xu and Olga Voitovych
Ukraine is “actively conducting a dialogue” to get more anti-aircraft missile systems from the West while Russia plans to import more ballistic missiles from Iran, a top Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.
“While we are doing everything possible and impossible to speed up the delivery of modern weapons to us, the President proposes to create an ‘energy Ramstein.’ We will maintain energy despite the enemy’s dream of destroying us,” Yermak added, vowing that Ukraine will defeat Russia.
The arms trade between Russia and Iran has been growing. Tehran is preparing to send approximately 1,000 additional weapons, including surface-to-surface short range ballistic missiles and more attack drones, to Moscow, officials from a Western country that closely monitors Iran’s weapons program told CNN on Tuesday.
Ukraine’s Air Force on Tuesday said that it currently has no effective defense against the types of ballistic missile that Iran is preparing to ship to Russia to use in its war against Ukraine.
CNN’s Kylie Atwood contributed reporting.
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Russia starts routine autumn conscription, after announcing "partial mobilization" was over
From CNN's Anna Chernova
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu appears on a screen as he chairs a meeting at the National Defence Control Centre in Moscow, Russia, on November 1.
Russian Defence Ministry/Reuters
Russia has started its routine autumn conscription drive, just days after its defense ministry declared that the “partial mobilization” effort for the war in Ukraine was over.
By a decree published on the government’s website, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to “conscript in the period from November 1 until December 31 2022 citizens of the Russian Federation aged 18 to 27 who are not in the reserve … in the number of 120,000 people.”
The defense ministry earlier reported, according to the state news agency TASS, that the routine autumn conscription had nothing to do with Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Conscripts will not enter the war zone, and most of them will spend a year of military service close to home, TASS said Tuesday.
The previous spring drive carried out in April-July had a goal of 134,500 conscripts, according to the presidential decree published in March.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced Monday all “partial mobilization” activities to fight in the country’s war on Ukraine had been halted after the draft’s target of recruiting 300,000 personnel had been met.
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Spain's foreign minister arrives in Kyiv to donate 30 ambulances to Ukraine
From CNN’s Al Goodman in Madrid
Jose Manuel Albares speaks to the press at Adolfo Suarez Madrid Barajas Airport on 28 February, in Madrid, Spain.
A. Perez Meca/Europa Press/Getty Images
Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday to deliver 30 ambulances to Ukraine, according to Spanish authorities.
Spain’s Foreign Ministry said Albares took an overnight train from Przemysl, Poland to Ukraine. His visit to the Ukrainian capital had previously been kept secret.
The donated ambulances are specially equipped to handle pregnant women, the Foreign Ministry’s press office told CNN.
Albares will visit areas affected by recent Russian missile strikes and pay tribute to Ukrainians who have died in the war, the press office said. He is also expected to meet with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
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Pakistan to import 30,000 tonnes of Russian wheat
From CNN's Sophia Saifi in Islamabad and Alex Stambaugh
Pakistan has approved a deal to import 30,000 tonnes of wheat from Russia in the wake of devastating floods that decimated the South Asian country’s domestic food supply.
The deal, endorsed by Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), was approved Monday to buy the wheat from Prodintorg, a Russian state-owned enterprise, according to a government statement.
Some context: Earlier this year, Pakistan was hit with devastating floods that killed more than 1,100 people and impacted 33 million others.
The flooding, which Pakistan’s Prime Minister called “the worst in the country’s history,” decimated the nation’s food supply after water covered millions of acres of crops and wiped out hundreds of thousands of livestock.
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Russian rockets hit southern city of Nikopol
From CNN's Josh Pennington and Alex Stambaugh
The southern Ukrainian city of Nikopol and a nearby town along the Dnipro river were struck by multiple rocket launchers overnight Tuesday, according to Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration.
No casualties have yet been reported and the extent of the damage is being investigated, he added.
In an earlier post, Reznichenko said Ukrainian air defenses had destroyed six Shahed-136 drones overnight.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Wednesday its air defenses had shot down 12 out of 13 attacks.
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Ukraine's military claims Iran plans to send sophisticated Arash-2 attack drones to Russia
From CNN's Jonny Hallam
Drones are seen at an underground site at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on May 28, 2022.
Iranian Army/WANA/Reuters
Ukrainian military intelligence on Tuesday said Iran is planning to send more than 200 combat drones to Russia, including the Arash-2 touted by the Iranian military as one of the longest-range attack drones in the world.
The intelligence agency said in a post on Telegram that the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles “will be delivered via the Caspian Sea to the port of Astrakhan.”
The agency said the drones are being shipped in a disassembled state and once inside Russian territory, “they will be collected, repainted and applied with Russian markings.”
The intelligence agency did not specify how it obtained the information on the shipments and CNN cannot independently verify the details.
But it echoes reporting by CNN on Tuesday, citing officials from a Western country that closely monitors Iran’s weapons program, that Tehran was preparing a large shipment of drones and ballistic missiles to Russia.
Any Russian deployment of the Arash-2 drone to the war in Ukraine could put further pressure on the country’s already challenged air defenses.
Since Sept. 13, Ukraine’s air defense forces say they have shot down more than 300 attack drones — but dozens have managed to strike their targets and destroy vital energy infrastructure.
Some background: CNN’s Clarissa Ward said the deployment of the Arash-2 has the potential to be a “big game changer” in the war in Ukraine as it “can carry five times the explosives of the Shahed.”
Unlike the noisy propeller of the Shahed-136, it has been claimed the Arash-2 uses jet propulsion, not only making it much faster and harder to shoot down, but also giving it a greater range. However, photos of what was described as an Arash-2 by Iranian state media clearly show it having a propeller at the back.
Speaking on Iranian TV at a military event in Tehran in late September, Iran’s Brig. Gen. Kioomars Heidari suggested the Arash-2 had a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles), which would make it one of the longest-range attack drones in the world. However, Iranian military leaders have a history of exaggerating the capabilities of Iranian-built weapons systems.
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Ukraine accuses Russian occupiers of spreading misinformation in Kherson to force civilians to leave
From CNN's Jonny Hallam and Yulia Kesaieva
Civilians evacuated from the city of Kherson gather at the railway station of the Crimean town of Dzhankoi on October 26.
Stringer/Getty Images
Ukraine’s military has accused Russian-installed officials in the southern region Kherson of spreading misinformation to coerce civilians to leave the region in a forced evacuation, a war crime.
In a statement on Tuesday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said, “The occupiers continue the forced displacement of civilians in the temporarily occupied territories of Kherson region.”
The Ukraine armed forces explained that the local population in Kherson has been “deprived of means of communication,” and are unable to get an accurate picture of what is really happening in the war.
Earlier in the week, Russian-installed officials announced a new evacuation from Kherson, saying they are taking civilians to safety because of the risk Ukraine might use unconventional weapons.
Ukraine has categorically denied the allegation that it intends to blow up the dam and flood the area.
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US will use tools "to expose, to confront, to counter" Iran's provision of weapons to Russia, official says
From CNN's Kylie Atwood, Christian Sierra and Jennifer Hansler
State Department spokesperson Ned Price speaks during a press conference in Washington, DC, on March 10.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/Pool/Reuters/FILE
The United States will “use every relevant and appropriate tool in our toolkit to expose, to confront, to counter” Iran’s provision of weapons to Russia, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday.
Speaking at a State Department briefing, Price said the US has “taken aim at Iran’s UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) proliferation networks over the course of months now,” and “we are always looking at targets that may be appropriate for this sort of response, sanctions, other, other financial measures.”
The spokesperson added the US will “vigorously” enforce all sanctions on both Russian and Iranian arms trade “to make it harder for Iran to sell these weapons to Russia.”
CNN reported Tuesday that Iran is preparing to send approximately 1,000 additional weapons, including surface-to-surface short range ballistic missiles and more attack drones, to Russia.
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No vessels will move along Black Sea grain corridor on Wednesday
From CNN's Jomana Karadsheh, Jorge Engels and Tim Lister
Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations have agreed to not plan for any ship movements in the Black Sea grain corridor on Wednesday, according to a statement from the UN Secretariat at the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul on Tuesday.
UN and Turkish teams on Tuesday carried out 36 inspections aboard outbound vessels, according to the statement. They attempted to inspect another two ships, but the process was cut short because of “issues related to fumigated cargo,” the statement said. The inspection reports would be shared with the Ukrainian and Russian delegations, it added.
The JCC said earlier that three ships had left Ukrainian ports Tuesday, despite Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the arrangement on Saturday.
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Ukrainian Air Force says it has no effective defense against ballistic missiles
From CNN's Jonny Hallam, Olga Voitovych and Kylie Atwood
A woman walks past a building damaged by missile strikes in Bakhmut on Tuesday.
Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters
Ukraine’s Air Force on Tuesday said it currently has no effective defense against the types of ballistic missile that Iran is allegedly preparing to ship to Russia to use in its war against Ukraine.
Yuriy Ihnat, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Air Force Command, said the range of the Iranian ballistic missiles being supplied, with “one having a range of 300 kilometers the other 700 kilometers,” will allow Russian forces to strike anywhere inside Ukraine.
Earlier on Tuesday, CNN reported that Iran is preparing to send about 1,000 additional weapons, including surface-to-surface short range ballistic missiles and more attack drones for Russia to use against Ukraine.
Asked whether Ukraine’s Armed Forces were ready to defend against these types of Iranian ballistic missiles, Ihnat replied they “will take all measures and means of protection against these missiles” that they can.
However, he warned “currently we have no effective defense against these missiles. It is theoretically possible to shoot them down, but it is very difficult to do it with the means we currently have.”
Ihnat said he believed Russia is being sent the Iranian ballistic missiles to boost its dwindling supply of Russian-built Iskander-M missiles.
“It is obvious that these missiles are coming to them to supplement these Iskanders, because they are actually running out of Iskanders,” he said.
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, called Tehran “an accomplice of aggression.”
“Transferring missiles to the Russian Federation, Iran knows that it will attack our cities. Teaching Russians to use drones, it knows that they will attack Ukraine’s energy sector, provoking waves of refugees to EU,” he tweeted.
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Iran is preparing to send more weapons including ballistic missiles to Russia, Western officials say
From CNN's Kylie Atwood
Iran is preparing to send approximately 1,000 additional weapons, including surface-to-surface short range ballistic missiles and more attack drones, to Russia to use in its war against Ukraine, officials from a Western country that closely monitors Iran’s weapons program told CNN.
The shipment is being closely monitored because it would be the first instance of Iran sending advanced precision guided missiles to Russia, which could give the Kremlin a substantial boost on the battlefield.
The last shipment of weapons from Iran to Russia included about 450 drones, officials said, which the Russians have already used to deadly effect in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said last week that they have shot down more than 300 Iranian drones.
This new expected shipment would mark a significant increase in Iranian support to Russia’s war effort. While the precise timing of when the shipment will arrive in Russia is unclear, officials believe the weapons will definitely be delivered before the end of the year.
